


Night on Earth

by 230W49thSt



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Black Paladin Shiro (Voltron), Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Horoscopes as Plot Devices, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Red Paladin Lance (Voltron), Shiro is Shiro, communication is key
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 16:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17943452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/230W49thSt/pseuds/230W49thSt
Summary: After Keith has left for the Blade of Marmora, working together as the Black and Red Paladin of Voltron has been difficult for Shiro and Lance, but now they're closer than ever.On Shiro's birthday, Lance surprises him with a slide show of Earth to help him to find a lost connection to his home planet. Will Shiro find it? And how will it look like?





	Night on Earth

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution to the Shance gift exchange for the Games Of Shance discord server aaaand my first Shance fic ever, so yay!  
> PS. Happy Birthday, Shiro!

## Night On Earth

 

"We're almost there," Lance promises.

A giggle of excitement escapes him as he tiptoes behind Shiro, shielding the Black Paladin's eyes during their walk through the Castle.

"Okay, Lance, but this is ridicu-- aaah!"

"Sorry, sorry, step! There was a step!"

"Thanks for the heads-up," Shiro snubs but doesn’t revoke his allowance for Lance to lead him forwards. (Albeit he walks a bit more reluctantly than before.)

His fingers are loosely wrapped around Lance's wrists for some much-needed stability in the darkness behind his eyelids. His heart's still racing from the step he had missed seconds ago and maybe feeling Lance's pulse on his fingertips doesn't help much in calming him down.

_Anyway._

He doesn't want to stumble again, that's the thing. Having to explain the others how he'd broken his limbs is something he isn't too keen on.

_Well, it started when Lance covered my eyes with his fingers and kidnapped me in the middle of the night._

Sounds like the summary of a bad porn plot.

Shiro tries not to snort about his own joke but to his horror, Lance mistakes the strangled noise for an outburst of annoyance.

"Please, bear with me," he pleads with a whiny voice, "You're gonna have the _best night ever_ , I promise."

Wow, okay. That doesn't help. Nope, not at all.

 

Shiro thanks the penny he'd found under his bed 15 years ago that his fellow Paladin isn't able to see his face in this minute because... that's definitely a blush on his cheeks. Damn his train of thoughts, someone do a heist and steal the explosive cargo before it blows up the next station.

No innuendo intended.

 

"We're almost there."

"If you say so."

 

Change of topic.

As much as Shiro had tried to track their way, he soon had accepted that the Castle was only a bigger labyrinth when one walks it in darkness and in constant fear of tripping over one's own feet. And Lance’s long and slim fingers do a mighty good job of keeping him in the dark.

Truth to be told, when Shiro had heard the knock on his door a mere couple of minutes ago, his mood hadn't been the best. The three-day-long mission through a rather strange solar system had taken its toll on him. He isn't sure what had drained most of his energy: discussing alien politics with an alien people that bore an uncomfortable resemblance to deep-sea creatures Shiro had watched documentaries about when he was a young cadet or...

His fellow Paladins. He likes them all, without a doubt, but sometimes they relied a little bit too much on him being the leader. Or is it his own fault he slips into this role so easily?

Probably an unhealthy combination of both. They say there's no gravity in space but the responsibility that followed him from Earth keeps weighing him down just the same.

 

But then Lance of all people had been the one standing in front of his door, alone, wearing his black PJ trousers and a blue hoodie, his only company a wicked smile on his lips.

Everyone else he would have sent away in an instance.

Everyone else but Lance.

The only one who constantly makes sure to share the weight whenever Shiro gives him a sign.

They had to use explicit words in the beginning and they still do most of the time. _Talking_ . A thing they had to learn rather painfully to make things work between them. But nowadays it can be everything: from a silent look that says _Can you do the briefing, Lance?_ , a pair of tired eyes that prompts Lance to shout _Let's call it a night!_ through the lounge or exchanged glances before an important alien meeting that gives Shiro the assurance that _yes, Shiro, I can jump in if you need me to_.

 

So when Lance had appeared and said _I have to show you something!_ he had no other choice but to oblige, almost to a point he'd deemed himself being helpless. His thoughts and decisions refuse to take the well-used paths in his brain whenever Lance is involved. It's been different when Keith had been on his right side. Keith knows him since forever and a day, more or less, but they're so used to each other's way of thinking and acting, it only enforces the role Shiro had to play his whole life.

Lance doesn't come with any baggage or connection to his past, not in a personal way. Sure, there'd been some sort of hero worship in the beginning but that was something Lance had to overcome, not Shiro. Eventually, he did. Fighting aliens in space is a very good team-building exercise after all. The same goes for being lead through the dark by someone.

 

"Just around the corner and we're there."

"You already said that five minutes ago."

"Maaaaybe we had to take a little scenic detour because a certain mustache wearing Altean needed a few more minutes to get your surprise ready."

"My surprise?"

"Ah, shit. No, it's not a surprise! Don't listen to me. It's everything else but a surprise. A non-surprise! Don't talk to me! Shhhht!"

Shiro snickers. It _is_ ridiculous. But for once he enjoys being clueless and not in control. Furthermore, he trusts Lance.

 

Maybe a bit too well because trust exactly had brought Shiro into the strange position his head began to call The Curious Incident of Being Manhandled by Lance McClain in the Night-Time.

 

Speaking of Shiro and Lance.

 

They had their issues, to put it mildly. After Keith had left for the Blade of Marmora, Shiro had gone back to piloting Black and Lance resumed his position as Voltron's right hand in Red. No one, not even Shiro and Lance themselves, had expected that getting used to their new work-relationship wasn't something that happened overnight. The last time they'd flown together, Lance had been a blue leg and not a red right hand with the additional responsibility of being second in command in battle.

 

Things got heated.

Things got shouted.

Things got _resolved_. With a lot of talking, mind you.

 

It hadn't been a _click, they see us rollin', they hatin'_ moment. That would've been too good to be true. Maybe in another universe, but in this one, they'd started their journey in different places only to get thrown in the two leader positions of Voltron in the blink of an eye.

 

To make Voltron work they had needed a deeper kind of mutual trust that required a strong foundation and enough time to take a shape. But now, weeks and countless missions later, the blurry shape had taken a more solid form, much like a cloud in the sky. Unknown to the other, both of their guesses regarding its form aimed in the same direction. But despite all their talking, this is something they fail to bring up in each other's company. They rather suffer in silence than to surrender to their burning curiosity that leads to a single question: _Do we see the same?_

 

"Almost time for the reveal!"

Shiro's in mid-step when Lance's hands on his face pull him back with much care to make him stop.

"We've reached our destination. Thanks for traveling with McClain Air. Enjoy your stay!"

"Lance, I don't even know where we are," Shiro says but can't deny the pleasant rush of adrenaline in his body and the tingle on his cheeks. For all he knows he might have led him straight into an airlock as a belated act of vengeance for all the fights they had when they’d started working together.

He doubts it though.

"Oh, you’ll see! Prepare yourself for a life-changing experience."

Slowly Lance removes his hands from the Black Paladin's eyes. Goosebumps appear in Shiro's neck when Lance's fingertips gently brush along his temples before they lose contact with his skin. He opens his eyes.

 

Bright lights, way too bright.

Rapid blinking.

A large empty room.

A lack of understanding.

 

“Happy Birthday!” Lance yells and throws himself in front of Shiro, his arms gesturing at the empty space and nauseating lights around them as if the place they're at has some meaning Shiro fails to see yet. _Literally_ fails to see. He blinks harder, forcing his eyes to get accustomed to the brightness around them.

"Okay, I lied! It _is_ a surprise!"

 

"Where are--" The words get stuck in his throat the moment he figures it out. They're in the projection room, the one Allura had spent much time in to talk to the hologram of her father.

He'd thought it was broken after Sendak's mind had corrupted the Castle but either he'd been wrong about it or someone had repaired it. Either way, it doesn't matter.

 

Because right now, Shiro's standing on a beach.

A _beach_.

Okay, the 360-degrees-moving image of one, like in a round movie theater, but the rays of sunshine reflected by the ocean and the fine sand around him look real enough to make him lose his inner balance for a second.

"So? Do you know what it is?" Lance asks. He raises his eyebrows and regards the confused Shiro with a proud smirk.

"Um, it's a beach," he states the obvious.

"Aaaaand?"

A long moment goes by where Shiro gazes at the white sand under his feet, then at the seemingly close ocean in front of them.

"Oh, you haven't even seen the best part yet!" Lance fumbles at his pocket and retrieves a small remote control. "Or better: heard." He presses some buttons and...

The calm sound of waves crashing on a beach fills the room. Some seagulls fly above them and caw, and Shiro realizes the sound is synchronized to the video.

A beach. The ocean. Seagulls.

 _Oh God._ His heart clenches almost violently and his eyes fill with tears when the realization hits him.

"It's Earth," Shiro breathes out in astonishment. "But how--"

Lance smiles but says nothing. Shiro takes a few more steps inside the room, turning himself around in circles, trying to take it all in.

Years. It's been _years_ since Shiro had seen the ocean. The vast and wide blue water that defines the planet he calls home. The warm sand that tickles between his toes. He almost wants to take off his shoes to feel it before he remembers that it's just an image.

"Coran repaired it," Lance explains quietly, careful not to push Shiro out of this special moment. "It's only 2D though, as you can see. I bought some picture books and CDs about Earth on our last few trips to the space mall. Almost got a second Kaltenecker." He chuckles. "Coran set it all up, scanned the books and transferred the pictures, turned them into videos. I helped," he adds and scratches his neck.

"That is amazing," Shiro says in awe, his eyes following a ship at the horizon. He almost gets lost in the unreal yet way too real image around him when something catches up with him.

With a frown on his face, Shiro turns around to Lance who's been unusually patient and quiet.

"Hang on. Did you say it's my birthday?"

"Yup," Lance answers with a pop to the p and bounces back and forth on the balls of his feet. "And before you say anything--" He points his finger at the Black Paladin. “ _Um_ . Just don't say _anything_.” With a grimace, he drops his hand. “Accept it, Shiro. Accept it that your--"

"I wasn't gonna say anything, Lance."

"Huh?"

Shiro lets his eyes gaze around the room until they're back on Lance.

"Well, I was gonna say _thanks_ but if you insist on me staying quiet then fine, I won't say another word." He adds a wink to his smile.

Lance lowers his head but keeps his focus on Shiro, eyes and face scrunched up to a playful pout. Their past time built on misunderstandings and horrendous miscommunication has turned into an insider joke they sometimes refer to when they're alone.

It only lasts some seconds before Shiro laughs and Lance beams back at him. The sparks in their eyes collide with each other and Shiro has to avert his gaze, afraid they might add fuel to the fire that has been burning inside his chest for a few weeks now.

"Okay, it's my birthday then, I can work with that."

"You better!"

Suddenly Lance is next to him and takes his hand in a swift move. It's hard for Shiro to distinguish between _Lance being Lance_ and _Lance being Lance around Shiro_ and actions like this don't help to untangle his own confusion. Before he can overthink it yet again he gets dragged into the middle of the room, stumbling behind Lance, until they stop in front of--

"A mattress?"

Lance hastily lets go of Shiro's hand. His ears turn into an alarming shade of red and Shiro tries not to give it any attention. His own mouth is dry and he's embarrassed about the direction his thoughts had gone for a second before he was able to force them back on their usual path.

Alas, it's Shiro's fault that the combination of holding hands and being dragged towards a mattress on a beach produced a different emotional image inside of him.

On the outside, he makes himself appear calm and neutral curious, his default, but on the inside, he's a mirrored version of a stammering blushing Lance next to him.

 

"I thought about a present for you and it's not the easiest, you know? A gift card from the space mall wouldn't do you right, I-- I mean with everything you do for me, _us!,_ honestly, for all of us, here at Voltron...ville. And a few weeks ago you said you couldn't remember how Earth looked like and..." Lance ruffles his own hair in exasperation. "That's just sad, man."

Shiro tries to swallow the knot in his throat. Getting called out on how he feels is something he's still getting used to. Too many years of pushing through, ignoring his needs and putting someone else's wishes and expectations first has made it difficult to acknowledge that he's more than a successful young exploration pilot with a legendary reputation who's currently the leader of a ten-thousand-year-old space robot during an intergalactic war, hashtag _no pressure_.

"How can we fight for this universe when we don't know why?"

"Well, Earth and many other inhabited planets count on us." His answer comes on autopilot, his voice dull like on a recorded cassette that has been played too often. It only takes Lance an exaggerated eye roll to call him out on his bullshit.

"That might be true, yes, but what's in it for _you_?" He punctuates the last word by pressing his finger into Shiro's chest.

"Lance. Don't you think saving the universe is already a good motiv--" He gets interrupted by another almost painful poke.

"No." _Poke_. For a moment there's anger in Lance's eyes. Anger not directed at Shiro but at the people who had put thoughts into his head, leaving no room for the real Shiro to figure out his own desires.

"Be," _poke_ , "selfish," _poke_ , "Takashi."

Shiro's human hand grabs Lance's wrist to stop him from leaving another bruise and for a moment they both freeze, eyes locked.

The transformation of Lance's anger into concern is smooth. His hand in Shiro's grip goes lax but Shiro doesn't let go. Instead, he squeezes it softly.

"I forgot."

It's a two-word confession. Shiro doesn't expect Lance to understand, not because he thinks Lance lacks some capacity to but simply because Shiro himself has a hard time wrapping his mind around it.

"Or maybe I never knew," he says and looks away. His fingers leave Lance's wrist and he turns around with folded arms, his eyes trying to find some distraction in the endless blue ocean in front of him. It's a show he puts on and he's aware of it. Takashi Shirogane, the kind but closed up leader that rather keeps to himself because secretly he's _so above_ all the insecurities mortal people have. It's a good show and sometimes Shiro even convinces himself it to be true. Only if he manages to do so, the belated realization of this blatant lie knocks him down even harder.

"Is this about you being the Garrison's poster boy?"

Screw Lance McClain, goddammit.

Shiro's eyes dart to the Paladin who has walked up next to him. A part of his brain makes a quick note to discard the cliché-like description _blue as the ocean_ when it comes to Lance's eye color because now that he's standing at a beach he can tell the comparison doesn't do any justice to the intense blue pearls he wants to get lost in whenever--

"Shiro?"

"Hm?"

Lance frowns.

"You don't have to answer but..." His thin arms are folded in front of his abdomen and insecurity spills along with his words. Shiro cringes so much he almost bites his lip. "To be honest," Lance continues, "I thought we were over this. It's not like we've never talked about that kind of stuff. You know. _Us_ . I don't mean to pressure you, seriously, feel free to shut me up any time, but-- but it was you who said we both needed a kick in the ass from someone else to open up. And in the last few weeks, I thought...or maybe I just hoped... that we could be each other's, um, _someone_?" A moment of hesitation. "In being honest to each other, I mean," he elaborates with an over-the-top whirl of his head, “and kicking each other’s asses, basically.” Shiro would grin about it if he didn't know exactly what Lance was referring to.

 

They've talked about this, yes. Lance hiding his insecurities and low self-esteem behind an upbeat personality is more or less an open secret by now. Which didn't make it any less awkward to talk about when a happy-go-lucky Lance turned into a vulnerable young man in front of his eyes while telling him his life story. One doesn't have to be old to be in the constant company of demons.

 

It took Shiro longer to open up, especially because he believed he wasn't allowed to show vulnerability during an intergalactic war.

Or at any other time.

But then all it took was a midnight gaming session in Lance's room to make his walls crumble. After multiple snarky remarks about Shiro's non-existing gaming abilities, something inside him broke.

"If _you_ had been forced into the perfect shape of a grade A student without being allowed to do anything else with your life _you'd_ suck at Tetris, too." He'd thrown the controller against the wall, angry at himself, the people who raised him and the universe.

Opening up to Lance hadn't been a slip-up per se, he'd only waited for the right moment to bring their relationship to the next necessary level, but the intensity had been a  surprise for both of them. They talked the whole night and when the morning came, the change between them got illuminated. Not a hero and his fan, not a leader and his right hand, not two strangers or teammates, even.

Only Shiro and Lance.

Two young men hiding behind masks that couldn't have been more different but whose real faces bore the same exhausted expression. One craves more validation, the other longs for something that’s his own. The wish to be enough and appreciated for what’s under their shells is something they have in common.

With much patience, they had both waited for the inevitable moment of regret that goes hand in hand with opening up to somebody.

It never came.

 

But Lance is still waiting. Waiting for Shiro's answer if his two-word confession is connected to his upbringing at the Garrison.

“I don’t want you to shut up, Lance. Ever. And you’re right, we’re over this.” He sighs and looks at his robotic arm. “As you know, they never gave me a chance to figure out who I am. I only realized something was missing when it was already too late - too late to choose another route in my life. Not that I had an idea of what I might have wanted _.”_ He huffed out a bitter laugh. “So I tried to befriend the Shiro in the Garrison info brochure and it worked for a while. But then I got sick, really sick, and I thought..." He shakes his head, trying to shake off the emotions attached to the memory. "What if this is it? On official documents and in newspapers I was someone whose name gets recognized. But who was I to myself? I didn't know."

He stops for a moment, giving Lance a chance to interject or make a joke or anything, really. He should've known better because Lance is a good listener. Shiro continues.

"And then I thought - _it's probably silly, I know_ \- but at that time I hoped I might find myself in space. On Kerberos. Where I'm far away from everyone who claims to has a say in how my life is supposed to be." His robotic hand clenches into a fist. "I wanted to prove to myself that I was more than the position I yield, more than good publicity for the Garrison. But sometimes..." His voice trails off.

"You're more than Voltron's leader," Lance says immediately. Gently he puts his hand on Shiro's upper arm. "Don't even go down that rabbit hole again, we both know it's not wonderland down there."

Lance's protectiveness draws a smile out of Shiro.

"Yes, Alice," he says with a wink.

Lance snorts and pulls his hand away.

"Shut up," he replies and bumps his shoulder against Shiro's. He doesn't put much effort in hiding the grin on his face and Shiro takes it as a cue to get their attention back to the obvious.

"So, let me guess. You want me to spend the night here?"

"Yes, that's the plan. Well, you don't have to but I thought it would be nice for you to spend a day on Earth again, you know?" He nods at the screen around them. "It's more than the beach. You can choose from about ten different videos. You said you couldn't find yourself on Earth or on Kerberos but maybe you'll find it here. Not everything but maybe _something_. Like, a good memory that only belongs to you." He pauses. “You’re already so much more than you think you are, you just can’t see it yet. But I can. And it’s something good, Takashi.”

Shiro wants to turn away from him but how can he ever turn his back to someone who’s able to see what he yet fails to see? Someone who had become his companion when it comes to dealing with growing pains. Someone he cares about.

"You should write columns in teen magazines,” Shiro says quietly, unsure how to move on from Lance’s kind words.

"Stop making fun of me," Lance retorts with another bump against his side and a slightly offended face. This time there's a hint of real insecurity in Lance's eyes and in some way Shiro’s glad about it. Lance showing him that something seemingly little has the power to hurt him speaks ways about how far they've come in their relationship. Work-relationship and friendship.

“It was a compliment.”  Shiro puts his arm around his shoulder. "You know, I had a subscription to Young Stars."

Lance gasps. "You did not!"

"I did. You know what's even worse?" He leans closer to Lance’s horrified face. "I had it for two years. And I enjoyed the photo love stories."

Lance leaps aside and forms a cross with his fingers.

"We got the devil on board! You're not Shiro, no, no, no, who are you?? CORAN? CORAAAAAN?"

The Black Paladin's eyes go wide and he jumps after him, trying to press his hands on his mouth to stop him from yelling through the Castle but Lance slips away like an eel.

"Oh God, Lance! Stop it!" He chases him through the room while Lance keeps yelling about Shiro's undying love for romantic photo love stories, calling out for the rest of the team for having a _serious situation_ that requires Voltron’s full attention.

A few seconds later Lance allows Shiro to corner him near the closed door that leads back into the hallway.

"Whatcha gonna do?" he asks cockily and raises his chin at Shiro. "It's already too late," he says in a dramatic fashion and throws his head from side to side, "they already know. Everyone knows about your dirty little secret."

"Then all that's left for me is sweet revenge." With these words and a mischievous grin, he puts his hands next to Lance's face, effectively circling him in.

 

The atmosphere between them changes in an instant and Shiro isn't prepared. And if he isn't mistaken, Lance neither. It doesn't help that they're both breathing harder than usual thanks to Lance's little game of _chase-me-Shiro_ on a fake beach.

Until now it'd been exactly that: a game; something silly Shiro hadn't done enough of in his life. But now they're both back at being young adults staring in each other's eyes in a position that's traditionally connected to a certain plot they're both embarrassingly aware of.

Shiro's too dumbfounded to move and Lance is too proud to back down. They make a wonderful pair.

Shiro's eyes briefly flicker down to Lance's mouth because _Why is he so close and why is Shiro unable to lean back_? The next seconds turn into an awkward staring contest for a prize they both long for. It almost gets unbearable until Lance’s whispered words pierce a hole through the thick silence, allowing some of their tension to find an exit.

"You-- you know the room's soundproof, right?"

“Yeah,” Shiro breathes, very distracted by the fact that he’s able to feel Lance’s warm breath on his chin. "I know."

"Okay, just checking."

The situation is both awkward and bliss. They've metaphorically danced around each other for some time now, albeit not for long and not as obvious as this. And now it’s impossible to tell if Shiro has figuratively caught Lance or if Lance has lured him into this position. But is there even a difference?

Shiro can barely hear the sound of the ocean and seagulls over the loud drumming in his ears. Lance looks at him with much patience, his arms slack to his body, chin still lifted up to him. It’s a challenge and an invitation.

Shiro draws in a deep breath to overcome the anxious feeling in his chest but the courage leaves him the moment he exhales.

Lance is the one who has mercy and breaks the spell. Without a warning, he ducks and slips out of Shiro's arms.

"The floor is lava!" he yells and hops on the mattress before he turns back around. "Ha! You're dead! I win!"

"Three-second-rule!" Shiro shouts back and lands next to him. Lance stares at him in sheer horror.

"I don’t even know where to begin,” he says and throws his hands over his head. “First of all, that’s the rule about food on the ground.”

“So what? To some aliens I’m food.”

“Also, it’s the five-second-rule, not three.”

“I  didn’t need five seconds to cover the distance, now did I?” Shiro replies smugly.

Lance contemplates his explanation for an overly stretched amount of time.

"Fine. At least you are able to cover distances when the floor’s lava,” he decides with a playful growl and Shiro can’t help but wonder if Lance has just called him out for not having closed _another distance_ less than a minute ago.

 

Shiro falls back on the mattress, his head landing on the pillow. His body is on fire and he hates it. No, he likes it. Both. It’s infuriating. It’s obvious that they won’t get out of this situation without talking to each other.

He pushes himself up on his elbows but his attempt to start a conversation dies on his tongue when he looks at Lance. He sits next to Shiro's feet, his eyes gazing with much desire and longing at the beach and ocean in front of him.

When Shiro's looking at the beach, he barely feels anything. When he looks at Lance looking at the beach...

He feels _everything_. The wish to get back to Earth just to see the real deal, the unfiltered emotions on Lance's face when he's back at a place he cares so much about…that wish fires through his body like medicine for a sickness he didn't know he had.

Lance hasn't only become his strongest connection to Earth but also to himself and his own wishes.

He might be the leader of Voltron and the Garrison’s biggest success story but right now he just wants to be the first face Lance searches for when they breach Earth's atmosphere on their way back home. To be the one Lance shares a secret wink with that says “See? That’s what we’ve been fighting for all along”.

 

It doesn’t take long until Lance becomes aware of Shiro blankly staring at him. With a guilty expression on his face, he gets up.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to hang around. There's a box to your left with a book, a chocolate bar with an intact best-before date, some postcards, and magazines. No Young Star, I'm afraid."

Shiro stops himself from daydreaming.

"You bought me things from Earth?"

"You can say _We Don't Have Time For This_ as many times as you want to, Takashi, I still saw how you looked at that historical novel. You even went back for it but you didn’t buy it." He smiles, more to himself than to Shiro, as he fumbles with the remote control in his hand. “So _I_ did.”

After a moment of hesitation and Shiro’s stomach making a somersault, Lance clears his throat and tosses it to him. "It's easy. Sound on or off, you can change the videos or turn them off completely. Spoilers: the night sky video is my personal favorite. I see you in the morning." Those words being said, he starts walking towards the door and Shiro's only thought revolves around how utterly wrong this feels.

 _Be selfish, Takashi!_ Lance's words resonate inside him.

Shiro knows what he wants, _who_ he wants, but it’s scary to know that for the first time in his life. His head frantically recites the disclaimer telling him that what they have is already good, emphasizing how hard they had worked to get to this point, fanning fear on how breakable it is. And Shiro agrees.

But then again, who says they would stop working?

The charged atmosphere becomes unbearable when Lance gives him a quick glance over the shoulder. They see each other every day, and it will stay that way for a while, but somehow this feels like a now-or-never situation.

“Good night, then,” Lance says, his true feeling hiding behind a smile Shiro looks right through. When his hand touches the doorknob, Shiro's mind gets catapulted back to its original thought, stripped away from all the fears surrounded by it: he doesn't want Lance to leave. Simple as that.

"Wait!"

"Yes?" Lance whirls around.

"Your present, I mean, this night,” Shiro begins and pushes himself up into a sitting position. “It's about Earth, right? With the videos and sounds, the other things."

"Yeah..?" Lance tilts his head, obviously expecting some question that already makes him wary. Typical Lance. Shiro tries to take a deep breath but all he manages is a shallow intake of air.

"Um. _You're_ from Earth, too."

"Come again?"

Shiro wants to punch him. Tenderly.

The look on Lance's face reveals clearly that he has understood the hidden meaning of Shiro's statement but keeps pushing anyway. His anxious frown is replaced by a smirk, framed with some well-measured reluctance. It's part of their relationship. Not jumping to conclusions but waiting for the other to speak up. Only now Shiro wishes they could skip that part, no matter how important it is. His hand goes to the back of his head and presses against his neck. It only takes a second until he's aware of his own body language.

Oh, great. It doesn't matter anymore, his awkward behavior has already given away some details about his feelings. Lance might be oblivious but not even he can misinterpret the nervous stammer in Shiro's voice and the blush on his face.

"Well, if it's all about me remembering Earth, um, you should be here, too. Because you're -- you're also from Earth. You could, um, help me remember it?”

There, he said it. (At least something.)

Lance withdraws his hand from the doorknob and leans back against the door.

He puts on a little Lance-like show as he reluctantly folds his arms across his chest, a self-assured smirk playing on his lips and Shiro feels attacked because his confidence looks real.

"That was the most anxious minute I've had in a while," Lance says, visibly enjoying the hoop he'd made Shiro jump through.

"Huh?" Shiro asks wisely but then Lance walks back and sits down next to him. For a moment Shiro gets lost in the adorable mix of Lance's contradicting appearance.

His facade of being overly self-asserted clashes with his inner insecurity, strengthened by the unspoken words between them. His nervously tapping feet underline his urge to bolt through the door, his warm blue eyes patiently scanning Shiro's face tell him he wants to stay.

Where Shiro tries to display only one emotion at a time, _if he has to_ , Lance doesn't shy away to display them all simultaneously. So when Shiro says _Lance is everything_ , he means it.

 

"For a second I thought you’d made me leave,” Lance says almost reproachfully. “Which would've been fine, by the way. This is a gift after all. But I kinda hoped to spend the night with you."

His voice is uncharacteristically calm for honest and unfiltered words like this and Shiro feels like falling because, again, he isn't prepared. Sure, he's a handful of years older than Lance but it’s like he's skipped some by being the person others, including an ex-boyfriend, wanted him to be. So whatever is happening between him and Lance happens entirely on unchartered territory because this time, _it's all him_.

Lance must've noticed Shiro's inner turmoil because he begins to backpedal.

"I mean, I wanted to be in this room. To look at the projection. The beach, the ocean, and sand and all. You can leave,” he laughs but it sounds fake, “I don't care, I'm gonna spend the night here on my own if I--"

"Can we--

"--have to-- what?"

Shiro exhales audibly and hunches his shoulders.

"Can we _not_ do this?" With the utmost caution, he tries to catch Lance's gaze but the other stares at his restless fingers in his lap. Their roles have switched. Lance worries his lip and Shiro is the one talking.

"Before," he continues slowly, "...you said you hoped we could be each other’s... _someones_. I didn’t respond to that, I’m sorry. Because-- I'd like that.” Finally, Lance looks back up. The nervousness hasn't left him yet and Shiro's glad that both of them seem to feel similar. "I mean, we already are though, aren't we? Kind of?"

Lance scrunches his nose and wiggles his hand unsurely. "Meeeh, kind of."

"Do you want to make it, what, official first or what?" Shiro asks.

Until now he hadn’t known Lance was able to raise one eyebrow so far up.

“Official?” he repeats and leans an inch forward. "Wow, don't you think we're skipping a few steps here? Isn't there supposed to be a _date_ first?"

"Official _someones_ , Lance! Forget it!”

"I'm just messing with you," Lance says quietly, but his eyes burning into Shiro's tell a different story. “Now let’s look at the box!”

They’re able to drop the topic and manage to pull themselves together, at least for some time.  Both of them had gladly accepted Shiro's sentence “you're from Earth, too” as the reason to spend the night together. The elephant in the room gets harder to ignore with every look they share but with the combined power of Lance pretending to be oblivious and Shiro pretending to have a shell of stone, they do a good job. A third party watching them might want to yell in frustration.

 

Shoulder to shoulder they sit on the mattress and skim through the book, suspiciously eye the chocolate who’d turned grayish (no one is too eager to taste it) and look at a handful old postcards. The atmosphere is relaxed until Lance has the glorious idea of reading each other’s outdated horoscopes in an old tv magazine.

“Okay, let's read yours first...hmm...Pisces!”

“I don’t believe in stuff like that, Lance.”

“Oh, come on. It’s fun! Pisces!” He clears his throat. ”There's a world of difference between getting lost in your daydreams and using your reveries to spark important changes. No one has to tell your imaginative, intuitive sign that sometimes the best way to create real-life magic is by starting off a little impractical and unrealistic.”

Shiro opens his mouth, then closes it again. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to be flattered or offended.”

“Today,” Lance continues, “as creative Venus shifts into Aquarius and your mystical twelfth house--”

“My mystical what?”

“Shhht...allot extra time to tap into your fertile fantasy life.” Lance wiggles his eyebrows and puts down the magazine. “You want me to leave? Do you need some alone time for your fertile fantasy life?”

“My fantasy life is just fine, thank you!” Shiro exclaims and tries, unsuccessfully, to pry the magazine away from Lance.

“Yeah, but is it, you know,” Lance scoots closer with the magazine hidden behind is back, “is it _fertile_?”

“Just-- keep reading!”

“Ha! Interested, aren’t we? Fine. Where was I? Ah. Whether you want to manifest a personal goal or a sizzling relationship - _sizzling_ , Shiro, _sizzling_ \- use the Law Of Attraction - it starts with capital letters, so it’s _a thing_ \- (“Sure it is, Lance.”), ehh… use that Law to draw in what you desire between now and March 29.” He puts down the magazine. “That's an oddly specific time frame if you ask me. You should definitely act fast.”

“Law Of Attraction, what's that even supposed to mean?“

“I'm not finished yet and I can tell you.” Lance continues reading. ”The key lies in focusing intently on what you want, and even acting _as if_ your wish has already come to fruition.”

Shiro falls quiet.

He doesn't believe in astrology but damn, do these words sound intriguing. And with Lance being the reader of said words, he has a hard time to keep his face and feelings in check.

“Word of advice from an outsider party?”

_Outsider party._

“No.”

“You should honor that law.”

_Acting as if Lance and him..._

“Pfff.”

“Draw in what you desiiiire.”

_Sitting right in front of him._

“Uh-uh.”

_This is getting more and more exhausting._

Lance frowns. “You don't desire Lotor, though, do you? I don't want him to bolt through that door. That would be very--”

“Oh my God,” Shiro exclaims with annoyance, “give me the magazine!”

“Hey!” Lance protests but the Black Paladin rips the magazine out of his fingers.

“My turn!”

Shiro scans the different zodiac signs. Here they are, in the middle of a space war, fighting side by side for years and he doesn’t even know something as simple as Lance’s zodiac sign. He looks at him and raises his eyebrows in question.

Lance gasps.

“What? You don’t know my sign? I’m a Leo, obviously, meow.”

Shiro doesn’t know if his loud laughter is caused by Lance’s hand forming an adorable paw or his friend’s horrendous expression when he realizes what he’s done.

“I mean ROAARRRR,” Lance corrects himself in a frenzy, “I _am_ a lion and _fly_ a lion! Jeez, stop laughing, I was confused for a moment.”

“Yeah, Lance,” Shiro says and wipes away a tear, ”everything the light touches is your kingdom.”

“Did you just--”

“Now let me read, please!” Shiro looks at the first words and -- oh. That moves the spotlight a bit too close to his inner field of emotional mines he tries to tip around.

“No, you have to read it out loud!” Lance demands and puts his chin on Shiro’s shoulder to get a glimpse of his horoscope.

“Um.” The close proximity to Lance’s face causes sparks to fire through Shiro’s body and for a moment he feels himself unable to even breath, afraid a single move might make Lance leave like a spooked animal.

“Please?” the Red Paladin asks and Shiro can’t say no.

“Fine,” he sighs, trying to sound rather annoyed than stirred up. “Cupid may start his target practice a little early this year—with YOU as his primary mark! - _You_ is written in capitals so it’s _a thing_ \- (“Of course I’m a thing, _please_.”) Today, loving Venus glides into Aquarius and your seventh house - ha, you only got seven - of committed onions--”

“Onions?”

“Eh, unions.”

Lance shoots him a stern glare, Shiro purposely ignores it.

“...doubling the, um, amorous vibes.”

“I didn't understand one single word.”

“Your amorous vibes have doubled,” Shiro repeats. For a moment all he feels is Lance's chin on his shoulder, face next to his, breathing steadily.

“Not wrong,” Lance says quietly. Shiro swallows. A part of him wants to die and he blames Lance that his feelings have taken such a dramatic shape. If he turns around his head only slightly, then-- “Keep reading.”

“Um. Alright. Have you gotten a little too serious in your search for, for -- love or in your approach to your relationship?”

“Very serious,” Lance interjects. Shiro’s brain goes haywire but he keeps reading, forcing his voice not to falter, no matter how shaky he feels.

“Between now and March 29, the love planet will lighten the mood in your key connections--”

“ALLURA! SET COURSE TO THE LOVE PLANET!”

“Ouch, Lance! Volume!” Shiro scowls and pushes away his face, more gently than his words had been.

“Oops. Sorry?” Cautiously Lance scoots closer again, his chin hovering over Shiro's shoulder. “Do you want me to rub your ear?” he whispers.

Shiro sighs, because he thinks he has to, then smiles because he wants to.

“No, it’s fine.” He tilts his head to offer Lance his shoulder again. Happily he accepts.

“Um. So the love planet…will also help you interact with more patience, kindness and affection.”

He stops. He takes a breath. Here goes nothing. “Not that you needed that.”

“Huh?”

“You’re already patient, kind and affectionate.”

His eyes are glued to the page in front of him but his feelings want to curl around Lance. He shakes it off and continues without thinking about what he’d just said.

“If you've been--”

Out of the blue Lance leans forward and kisses him on the cheek.

“Thank you,” he breathes quickly with his lips lingering on Shiro’s skin. Before Shiro can react in any way, Lance leans back on his shoulder and gives him a nudge. “Sorry for interrupting, go on.”

“Um. Okay.”

Lance just kissed him. He feels like he’s floating ten feet above the ground. His heart is probably beating fast but he can’t even feel it because his whole body is tingling.

“Go on!”

Right, Lance just kissed him but he will finish reading that damn horoscope.

“If you’ve been a lone cat for a while, this is--”

He stops again, albeit for a different reason, then starts to chuckle. His face bumps against Lance's. “I cannot read this!”

“But you have to!”

“Okay, okay.” He takes a deep breath and forces himself to be calm again. “Here it goes. If you've been a lone cat for a while this is the _purr_ -fect time--”

“DID YOU JUST PURR?” Lance leans over his shoulder to check the words in the magazine.

“It says _purr_ -fect!” Shiro points at the line. ”Let me finish… this is the _purrrrrr_ -fect time (Lance leans back from him and draws air into his lungs) to put more energy into a search for a mate. Success awaits! That sounds optimistic. I’m sure you’re, uh, gonna find someone, somewhere.”

“Somewhere?”

“Yeah, it's a huge universe.”

When he looks up, he finds Lance staring at him, almost dazed and frozen in place, lips slightly parted. A faint aura of disappointment lingers around him.

“You’re right,” Lance says bleakly. “It's all nonsense. It doesn’t-- say anything about, you know, important things, like war.”

“Um. Right. It's very romance targeted.” The sudden change in Lance's behavior makes him wary. Has he said something wrong? Or does Lance already regret the spontaneous kiss?

“I mean, we're in space, what does it matter anyway,” Lance mopes with a breathy voice and knitted brows, energy not lost but focused on something cold.  “Love. Romance.” He waves his hand in a dismissive manner. “And-- and it's not that--”

“That what?”

“What are the odds that--” With slouched shoulders, he briefly raises his eyes to give Shiro a quick and unsure glance. “It's not important. We're stuck in a war, Shiro. That's it.“

“You asked me how we can fight a war if we don't know what we fight for. Why not for something like that. And what odds do you even mean?”

“Sometimes I think that…no. I want to believe that there's a chance that…” He scratches his neck, unable to make eye contact with his friend.

Meanwhile, Shiro's become still as a marble figure.

Does he talk about them? Is this happening?

“But I don't know, Shiro. I just, don't know.”

Shiro coughs to put himself out of his stupor. “Your horoscope said success awaits.”

“And suddenly you believe in that?”

“Maybe.”

They’re quiet for a moment. The on-going sound of waves and seagulls becomes unbearable in their shared silence and Lance reaches for the remote control.

“Let's check the other videos,” he proposes. “I'm a bit tired."

Liar.

"Yeah, me too."

Another liar.

 

They both lie down on the bedcover, back to back, and Shiro’s heart pressure goes through the roof. He closes his eyes for a moment. Inhale. Hold. Exhale, until his lungs are empty. He has the urge to blame himself for Lance’s sudden change in mood, even though he can’t pinpoint the reason. All he had done was to reaffirm the horoscope’s positive message but somehow his friend had taken it the wrong way.

Talking. Talking is both their weakness and strength. Although Shiro longs to know what Lance is feeling, he can’t bring himself to speak up and Lance keeps quiet. After all, they’re just two awkward young adults.

 

Lance skips through the videos, giving them a few minutes getting accustomed to a scene before he chooses the next one. A desert, a landscape of ice, the edge of a volcano, outside a wooden hut in the Alps. The images of their home planet, lightyears away, are no substitute for the communication they need but for the moment it’s enough to be silent together.

The image changes again and a forest appears around them.

"Looks Canadian," Shiro comments quietly and breaks the silence. The gray early-evening sky is mostly hidden behind the dark green and brown trees. They can't see the stream but they hear the gurgle of the water running by. The leaves move lazily in a soft breeze.

Shiro turns around to Lance, even though all he sees is his back.

"This is my favorite so far. I might miss the forests, I think. The Earth ones."

"Yeah, they're nice."

"This room is incredible, Lance. Thank you again."

"Ah, don't mention it," Lance says nonchalantly, his mood more cheery than before, and Shiro exhales in relief. Maybe they’re good again.

"The pictures are so clear and...it even smells good!” Shiro whispers. Lance's neck is merely inches away and he briefly wonders how soft his skin might be. “It's like, hm, rain on a fresh spring day, some flowers already blooming." Lance is strangely quiet. "Really hard to describe. I didn’t realize I love this smell so much. Like something you wanna kiss,” he mumbles, his eyes drifting back on Lance’s neck. "Maybe there's something worth going back for after all."

Suddenly Lance moves and turns around, a blush on his face as he meets Shiro’s eyes.

“Um, I guess that’s me.”

"What?”

Lance slowly lowers his gaze until his eyes are fixed somewhere on Shiro’s chest in front of him.

“The room doesn’t come with fragrances.” He swallows thickly. Cautiously his eyes flicker over Shiro’s face. “I do, though.”

“What do you--” Shiro’s eyes widen. “Oh.”

The wires in his brain do their best to connect the things that have been said to come up with an appropriate reaction but they get entangled, leaving Shiro on his own. He forces his eyes to not look at Lance’s lips but now that he had uttered the word with _k_ it's almost impossible not to. Suddenly Lance’s lips start to move.

“You can do it though,” they say.

“Do-- do what?”

Lance bites his lip and yup, it's _impossible_ not to stare.

“What you said you wanted to do.”

The confusion in Shiro’s face slowly turns into understanding but Lance doesn’t wait for him to connect some dots or entangle any wires. Apparently, his will to talk is back and it’s strong enough to push through any kind of awkwardness.

“You said you lov-- liked the smell. Said you wanted to--”

“Kiss it,” Shiro breathes.

“Yeah.” Lance's tongue darts out to lick his lips which causes Shiro’s eyes to flicker down at his mouth again. Oh boy. This is good and he wants it badly. “You don’t have to, though," Lance says. "I’m just saying that I-- I wouldn’t, you know, _mind_. I wouldn’t mind. If that happened."

 

They stare at each other, expectantly. But Lance’s expression makes it hard for Shiro to figure out what his friend wants. He would've lied if he said he hadn't thought about kissing Lance an embarrassingly number of times lately. Hell, the last few hours alone. Still, he doesn’t move forward or back. His eyes are fixed at Lance, waiting for something more.

It doesn't come. And apparently for Lance neither.

 

“Um. Okay. I just-- Good night.” Lance mumbles a few seconds later and turns around on his other side again, his back towards Shiro like before.

Time passes and no one says a word although they know that words are the missing link. His own frustration gives Shiro the nudge to continue the conversation.

"What do you mean _You wouldn't mind_?"

He basically hears Lance swallow at his question which only encourages him to probe some more. "Do you mean you'd... _tolerate_ it?"

"Su-- sure."

Shiro doesn't want to feel disappointed but dang, he has no active control over the pain that radiates from his heart. _Wouldn’t mind. Tolerate._

"Oh. Okay, then." He rolls on his back to put some distance between him and Lance. So that's settled. Whatever he thought had been developing between them had been nothing else than what they already had. His mind had played tricks on him. It's fine, really, it’s really fine, very very--

"Shiro?"

He tries not to sigh. It’s not Lance’s fault.

"Yes?"

"You took that for a no, didn't you?"

Shiro frowns. Now that Lance had said it, he hadn't been aware he'd asked a question. No, in fact, he had not asked _anything_ . He turns his head toward Lance's back but his friend hasn't moved a bit. Maybe Shiro had _wanted_ to ask a question, all night, honestly, but had been too chicken to do so. But if he hadn't asked a question, why is Lance's answer so disappointing?

"Um. I didn't take it for an, um, enthusiastic yes. Also I-- I didn't ask anything."

"Oh. Right."

Shiro keeps staring at Lance. Boy, this is awkward. This was a bad idea. Maybe they hadn't overcome their time of miscommunication, maybe this is just phase 2, a much more brutal one because it includes one-sided pining for the most--

"Shiro?"

"Yes?"

A short pause.

"I'm a fool."

A nervous bubble of laughter escapes Shiro.

"What? No, you're not."

"Yes, I am." Finally, Lance turns around again, his face flushed and painted with a painful expression, but the need for some clarifying words beats his own discomfort.

"I assumed you might want to -- to kiss me but you probably only liked my shampoo and now I feel awkward because it took me so long to realize that what I’m feeling…well, it isn’t mutual.” His breath hitches before he continues. “And I’m sorry I kissed you earlier. This is all my fault. I thought that-- and that’s the problem, really, I _thought_ and didn’t ask.” He nervously scratches his forehead and hides behind his hand. “Can we please forget this ever happened and go on with our lives as before, no hard feelings whatsoever. I’m a fool and a lone cat."

“You’re a lone cat?”

“A lone cat, yes.” He peeks through his fingers. “My horoscope?”

"Yeah, no, I know but -- but it also says it’s the perfect time for you to look for, you know, someone.”

Lance shakes his head sadly.

“It’s just a horoscope.”

“No, Lance.” Shiro props himself up on his arm. “What I’m trying to say is: You, um, you didn't assume wrong, though."

Lance's lips part in surprise.

"You mean you like my shampoo?"

The two of them stare at each as if they’re speaking different languages until Shiro can’t take it any longer. With a groan, he falls on his back and buries his face in his hands.

"Can we _please_ get this over with?"

Lance chuckles and with the sound of it, the built-up tension becomes bearable again.

"Wow, look at you, creating real-life magic right in front of my eyes!" Lance says. A second later Shiro’s hands get pulled off his face. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

Lance hovers above him and Shiro feels like he’s looking at heaven. Clear words are still unspoken but finally, they're on the same page, however not on the same line yet because suddenly Lance starts moving down.

"What are you doing?" Shiro asks with a strained voice and softly stops Lance with his hands on his shoulder.

" _Getting this over with_?"

“Lance, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sorry.”

"If you think I'm doing that whole chasing around thing again then youuu thinks wrooong, Shiro. Nope. Forget it."

"Wha- what are you talking about?"

"I let you corner me at the door,” Lance says exasperatedly. “I basically went the 90% of the way and waited for your pathetic 10%."

"My _pathetic_ …I didn't know we were there already. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to but I wasn't sure if you--”

Lance lays a finger on Shiro’s lips which immediately shuts him up.

"Let’s just get this over--"

"For the love of God, we’re not _getting this over with_ ," Shiro says and quickly sits up, half in laughter, half annoyed by their mutual inability to get their shit together. Lance pouts only for a moment before he follows suit and sits up in front of him, cross-legged as usual.

"Now what?" he asks, transformed back into a nervous puddle caused by Shiro’s slightly gruff reaction. Without overthinking Shiro unfolds Lance's legs and pulls him towards him. Lance’s legs fall over his own to either side of him. “Oh.”

They're closer now.

"Consider this my contribution to the 100%," Shiro says with a little smile. His arms rest on Lance’s leg, his hand loosely on his hips. “Is this okay?”

"It’s _purr_ -fect,” Lance replies and flutters his eyes.

The Black Paladin chuckles and Lance uses this moment to overcome his shyness and lays his hands on Shiro’s chest.

They fall quiet. No need to rush. Every new step in their relationship so far had come with much patience so that’s what they’re used to. Their bond was born from the necessity to keep Voltron strong and functional. But attached to their mutual trust and friendship, something else had taken shape. Forgotten is the fear to call it different names because it had finally revealed itself: A deep and honest affection for each other. Foreheads softly pressed together, eyes closed, they just breath each other in. There are only a handful of words left to say tonight and Shiro knows the right ones. Slowly he dips his head until their noses brush.

"Lance?"

"Hmmm... present." His eyes are still closed and Shiro's thankful he has a few seconds he can look at him. His freckles, his sun-touched skin, his long eyelashes, all up close, his lips not even an inch away.

If someone had told him a few months ago he'd fall for Lance McClain, he would have laughed. Too different on too many levels. Incompatible by default.

Different, yes. But not in every way.

Incompatible by default, yes. But a default setting can be changed with the correct user permission. They hadn't clicked naturally, they had needed to find the right pieces that fit together. The hard work had been rewarding because the picture in the end is stunning.

Then Lance opens his blue eyes, looks at him and Shiro just says it.

"I want to kiss you."

As a reply, Lance shifts his head until Shiro can feel his warm breath on his mouth.

"I wanna kiss you, too," he whispers and Shiro's heart skips a beat when Lance closes the narrow distance. His lips are warm and soft and he tastes like _He's So Worth It_ and a possible future of how Shiro imagines _Home_ to be like.

He'd forgotten what kissing is like but Lance replaces the broken memories with new ones, more intense ones. He lets his fingers trace along Lance's cheeks until he makes the other shudder.

“That tickles,” Lance mumbles, not even bothering to remove his lips from Shiro's.

“Sorry,” he says but doesn't mean it because it's been too cute and he’s being selfish. He's faintly aware that Lance is scooting closer to him but his mouth is much more interesting and he makes sure their lips don’t lose contact.

“Ouch,” Lance hisses when his knee lands on something solid and suddenly the room changes its color. Shiro opens his eyes to take a brief glimpse of the image but then he can’t stop staring. Lance leans his temple against his head and they’re both taking in the new video.

They are surrounded by countless stars on a dark blue firmament. The stars sparkle lazily and a band of light covers the whole sky. The feeling of a strong familiarity rushes through Shiro but his mind can’t place it yet. Closer to the ground, the blue is lighter but high above them it almost turned black. The long band of light is blurry, much like a gigantic nebula.

And Shiro realizes...

It’s the Milky Way. It’s Earth’s night sky. The sky he’d looked up all his life. A sky, that has always given him comfort. After all the years of being taken by the Galra and fighting in a war far away from home, he’d almost forgotten how it looks like.

A pair of soft lips press against the corner of his mouth. He turns around and finds himself looking straight into Lance’s eyes.

Lance’s _dark blue_ eyes. No, comparing them to the ocean wouldn’t do them any justice.

Lance’s eyes are a perfect mirror of the night sky on Earth - a blue that somehow includes all shades the firmament can take and maybe, if he looks real close, he can even see some stars inside them.

“How do you like your birthday night so far?”

Shiro wraps his arms around Lance's waist and pulls him into his lap. Lance lets out a surprised _welp_ followed by a chuckle.

“I think I'm on my way of falling in love with Earth.”

Lance hums in approval.

“So you found something? A good memory?”

“I did.”

Lance’s fingers fondle gently the white floof of Shiro’s hair.

“I’m glad.”

Shiro wants to melt under the touch, wants to hold him the whole night but he also wants something else.

“I want to ask you something.”

“Okay.”

He summons all the courage he can muster but Lance sitting in his lap, looking at him so attentively and lovingly, with his arms wrapped around Shiro's neck, makes him pause for a moment.

They’ve grown very much, Shiro and Lance, and in the end, they became each other’s roots.  They'd worked hard to become a better team for Voltron, and look where it had got them: defenders of the universe. Imagine what else they will accomplish when they begin to think about what they want for themselves - together.

“Lance, do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Are you worried about the March 29 deadline?”

Shiro presses his head against Lance's chest, hiding the blush and the anxiety of a possible but unlikely rejection. Damn that boy he adores with every fiber of his being.

“I’m just trying to draw in what I desire,” Shiro grunts in defeat, his voice dulled by the fabric of Lance's hoodie. The feeling of smooth fingers caressing his exposed neck makes him raise his head.

Two pairs of kind eyes with bright futures look at each other, eager to collide to become the brightest spot in the universe.

“Success awaits,” Lance whispers, then: “That means yes.”

Without further ado, Shiro pulls him down in a long kiss.

All is said, at least for tonight, everything else is just a bonus. They almost topple over when things get a bit heated but who can blame them? Just because they stopped talking doesn’t mean their lips won’t be busy.

\---

“So you're not a lone cat any longer,” Shiro whispers between kisses.

“Nope,“ Lance says proudly, “caught me a fish. But tell me something?”

“Yes?”

Lance shifts his weight and pushes Shiro down into the mattress.

“What about that fertile fantasy life?”

Shiro groans but Lance shuts him up with another kiss.

  


**Author's Note:**

> the horoscopes are from real ones from astrostyle and were oddly fitting o.O
> 
> i hope you like my take on shance - i learned to appreciate this ship only recently :)
> 
> i actually started writing something that would now be the prequel to this story where lance and shiro had to learn to work together. it always bothered me that the show didn't pay any attention to them piloting black and red - i mean: it's also a big change for both of them to fly in this constellation?!  
> anyway. for this fic i skipped forward and included some little flashbacks and explanations about the development of their relationship. that i focused the story on shiro came as surprise to me (but says probably a lot about myself *cough*) - it was definitely fun and refreshing to shine a different light on him.
> 
> i'm always happy about comments and kudos! you can find me on twitter [@worstmission](https://twitter.com/worstmission) or tumblr [@worstmissionever](http://worstmissionever.tumblr.com/)


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